Less than 24 hours after President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, Bronx elected officials are working to put the law into action.
Officials say that the South Bronx is one of the communities hardest hit by climate change, with approximately 15,000 diesel trucks creating congestion every day from the Hunts Point Terminal Market.
To combat this and other environmental and health issues, elected officials plan to improve the quality of life for Bronx residents by capping the Cross Bronx Expressway, making the Hunts Point Market greener, expanding access to the Harlem River waterfront, and even lowering the costs of insulin.
Officials say the Inflation Reduction Act allows the federal government to negotiate more affordable prescription drug prices for people on Medicare. The city’s Health Department estimated that 22% of Bronx residents suffer from diabetes – a population local officials is looking to help out.
While some changes, like capping insulin prices, are likely to happen soon, other solutions could take years.